NCS New Canaan

Founding Chapter

Stewarding Hardship: “Shut Up and Listen” (Mark Herzlich – 1/10/20 – NCS New Canaan)

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We all go through hardship–but how do we steward the “gift” of that hardship to bless other lives? After a touching introduction by Rob Brinkman (with an amazing story of how God used Mark Herzlich in Rob’s life, unbeknownst to Mark), Mark recounts with tremendous humility and transparency (and a wonderful dose of NCS humor) the journey that took him from hearing he would never play football again to winning a Super Bowl ring. Herzlich also shares how he first met his wife, and the extraordinary way she helped him realize his true manhood, which wasn’t on a football field.

Mark also explains how he and his wife made a conscious choice to use the platform God has given them–“Super Bowl Champion”–to make a difference in marriages, in how men treat women and in how people face challenges. In partnership with his wife, Mark Herzlich is stewarding well the gifts of extraordinary blessing and extraordinary hardship that God has allowed in their lives. It is a story worth hearing–so be like Job (and Mark) and “shut up and listen”. Job 40:5 (MSG).

God’s Amazing Grace Transforms Lives (John Simontacchi – 10/11/19 – NCS New Canaan)

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With great transparency and humility and extraordinary energy, John Simontacchi shares his extraordinary journey of transformation. John describes the numerous times that God’s amazing hand of grace rescued him from life-threatening situations and guided his career, even before he really even “believed” in God. Most dramatically, John explains how the escalation of his career was accompanied by the slow deterioration of his heart until in his 60’s he was given just a few months to live. Once again, God’s amazing grace provided a 20-year old heart for his aging body, and with that heart came direction toward a new career. John Simontacchi was given a new heart both figuratively and literally, and the message of this transformed man is to trust and surrender.

Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (Terry Wilcox – 6/7/19 – NCS New Canaan)

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Although he generally hates talking about himself or his past, Terry Wilcox humbly and transparently shares the amazing journey of his life with Jesus. Terry explains the decisions that set the course for his life–accepting Jesus, surrendering his life to the Holy Spirit and telling God he would embrace any opportunity God provided to talk about Him–and he reveals the incredible adventures that were in God’s plan for a “farm boy from Western Pennsylvania who barely got through college”. Terry also shares the conclusions of a life lived fully with Jesus–God is faithful and His grace is sufficient.

God Gave Me A New Heart (In More Ways Than One) (Gerardo Lambert – 3/8/19 – NCS New Canaan)

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With remarkable humility, Gerardo Lambert shares for the first time publicly “the truth”–the incredible FULL story of how God pulled him out of darkness and gave him a second chance.

Gerardo vulnerably talks about his first marriage (with three daughters) and becoming lost in the world of fashion modeling–endless parties, drugs and alcohol in order to “fit in”. He talks about the pleas from his mother to seek God and his repeated dismissals of her pleas. He then takes us through the decision to run away from that life and transition to becoming a fitness trainer and amateur bodybuilder, all while ( unbeknownst to him) his heart was deteriorating and growing to the size of a football.

Gerardo shares the excruciating journey from a fit and healthy fashion model, trainer and amateur bodybuilder in his 20’s to suddenly: being unable to lift weights; having a defibrillator implanted; being upgraded to a pacemaker; suffering multiple heart attacks and life-saving shocks from the devices; flat-lining; being put into an induced coma for 3 months waiting for a new heart (in which he lost 1/2 his body weight as well as most muscle function); getting a new heart accompanied by a miraculous encounter with God; and, finally, being inspired to develop a fitness routine he calls “BodyShock”. It is the encounter with God that Gerardo has kept to himself for a decade for fear it would be met with ridicule and disbelief. Gerardo finally shares what he refers to as “the truth”.

Hope in the Midst of Suffering (Peter Scalzo – 2/22/19 – NCS New Canaan)

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Peter Scalzo shares, with great vulnerability, how his 14-year cancer journey (which has included 15 surgeries, being told 6 times he has cancer, being told twice that he should make “end of life” preparations, and being told by the world’s top oncologists that he should not be alive) has been used by God as a tool of transformation and how it has been more of a spiritual and emotional trial than a physical one. Scalzo reveals that it was the reflections of a cancer widow that led him to consider the legacy he was leaving his children–she told him that her husband “didn’t leave enough of himself behind”.

After considering his legacy, Scalzo wanted to leave his six children with the two key ingredients that have allowed him to find hope in his suffering–“surrender and trust”. In explaining what “surrender” and “trust” have come to mean to him, Scalzo reveals his conclusions that we are unable to control anything other than how we respond to our circumstances and that pain is an invitation to change.

Scalzo also shares, with incredible transparency, a “dark night of the soul” experience in 2015 when he spent four days in an ICU. He tells about the depths of his depression, fear, anger and sadness and, more importantly, how God showed up to reveal 23 truths that brought back hope and continue to allow him to face extraordinary circumstances with unimaginable peace.

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